Few artists have rewritten the rules of pop music as many times as Madonna. With boundless energy to invest into the music industry, she quickly rose to stardom after moving to New York and proving her diligent talent onstage amongst dancers, singers, and fellow artists. She never shied from stirring up the pot, asserting her femininity unapologetically in the face of an industry that often demanded modesty – or plain conformity. By using fashion as ammunition, performance as a trigger, and her lyrics to rebel against outdated ideals, she turned provocation into art and redefined what it meant to be a woman on stage.
Now, that same pop spirit is being channelled through a different kind of lens. Years later, in a candlelit concert that blends classical music with edge, Madonna’s most iconic hits will be transformed by the sounds of a live string quartet. From the addictive hit “Like a Virgin” to the punch of “Vogue,” this tribute offers a chance to revisit her presence in an atmosphere just as powerful as this Candlelight concert.
Dates to see this tribute to Madonna
There’s something about Madonna’s music that makes you stand a little taller. Maybe it’s the way “Material Girl” dares you to take up space, or how “Like a Prayer” wraps defiance in something sacred. Come and take hold of those feelings on 26 July, as a string quartet breathes new life into her most powerful songs by candlelight. Performed by the Morassi String Quartet, this 60-minute concert might stir up some nostalgia—but it definitely won’t spare you from a proper throwback.
Prepare to turn up at the Glaziers Hall in South London with your most devious fit. As a strict Madonna principle, attendance demands perseverance and confidence in its most fashionable form. It’s all part of the Candlelight concert series, taking iconic music and finding ways to turn them into another memorable experience.
Get your tickets here if this tickles your fancy.Madonna in the year 1990 and 2023
It was difficult not to see Madonna everywhere in 1990. On TV, on runways, at protests, onstage. She kicked off the decade with one of her hits, “Vogue”. She not only topped the charts around the world, but also brought the underground ballroom scene into the mainstream – Madonna was stylish, completely empowering, and became an icon for women, men and everyone in between. That same year, she launched her Blond Ambition tour; a boundary-pushing spectacle full of choreography, corsets, and controversy. And even though the tour caused outrage in some circles (including the Vatican), it also set a new standard for what pop concerts could come to be.
As restless as she was, she wrapped up the year with The Immaculate Collection, a greatest hits album that became one of the best-selling compilations of all time. Tracks like “Holiday,” “Like a Prayer,” and “Into the Groove” reminded everyone just how much she had already shaped the sound of the ’80s, and how she was about to change the ’90s too.
And not to mention her comeback in 2023. Madonna returned to London with her Celebration Tour, an intelligible retrospective that celebrated her booming career spanning four decades. The tour needlessly needed to remind us of her lasting influence. It was her grand opening in the London 02 Arena that witnessed firsthand why Madonna remains a pop star today.
- 60,000 tickets were sold for the first four nights of the tour at the O2 Arena
- Fans from 71 countries traveled to London for the opening concert
- The first four London shows grossed $14.7 million
